The Hindu : National : Panel: rope in villagers to protect wildlife

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Panel: rope in villagers to protect wildlife

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has asked the Environment and Forests Ministry to sensitise villagers to man-animal co-existence and also involve them in wildlife conservation.

In many cases villagers are protecting poachers, says the committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, in its report submitted in both Houses on Tuesday.

Relocation of villages in Project Tiger areas, for which the Ministry has earmarked funds, should be done only where necessary. For, an isolated habitat for tigers could be an easy target of poachers.

The ban on trade in tiger parts with neighbours, particularly China — the largest market — should continue.

The committee expressed concern at the severe curtailment of funds for the Ministry, in spite of the greater need to invest substantially in containing environmental degradation and global warming. The Ministry was not able to project its fund requirements to the Planning Commission properly. The Commission should be sensitised to funds allocation, keeping in view the urgent need for environmental protection.

Expressing satisfaction with the efforts of the Ministry in increasing wetlands and mangrove sites, the committee noted that mangroves and coral reefs were important coastal environmental resources, providing habitats for marine species and protection from extreme weather events, besides being a base for a sustainable tourism.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National